PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 16, 2006--Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc.: The results of new studies to be presented at the VIII International Symposium on Respiratory Viral Infections on March 16-19 represent a major step forward in leveraging research that identifies the gene that is believed to have caused the immune system to shut down and led to the devastating Spanish flu epidemic of 1918, which is estimated to have killed 100 million people. These studies have critical implications because some researchers believe the current spread of the H5N1, or avian flu, virus may have similar underlying causes. The findings, to be presented by Dr. William Mitchell, Professor of Pathology at Vanderbilt University and a member of the Board of Directors of Hemispherx Biopharma, provide further evidence that Hemispherx Biopharma's Alferon LDO (Low-Dose Oral), a new delivery form of an anti-viral with prior regulatory approval for a category of sexually transmitted diseases, has tremendous potential in resisting the spread of avian flu by stimulating genes that induce the production of immune compounds that are key building blocks in the body's defense system.
